Pope Francis has called on to end their nuclear arms while on a to Japan. The Pontiff is on the first Papal visit to Japan in 38 years. He visited the only two cities ever to have been subjected to a nuclear attack - Nagasaki and Hiroshima. While speaking in Nagasaki, the Pope condemned the "unspeakable " of nuclear weapons. Nagasaki was the city to suffer widespread and destruction as it was destroyed towards the of World War II. Francis laid a and prayed at the foot of a . Over 140,000 people perished in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, while 74,000 people lost their lives in the Nagasaki three days later.
Pope Francis directed his towards world leaders, who seem to be intent on building of reducing their nuclear arsenals. He said: "Convinced as I am that a world without nuclear weapons is and necessary, I ask political leaders not to forget that these weapons cannot protect us from threats to national and international ." He condemned the of money spent on nuclear weapons. He said: "In a world where millions of children and families live in conditions, the money that is squandered and the made through the manufacture, upgrading, maintenance and of ever more destructive weapons, are an affront crying out to ."